Mistake
by Ashe Corinthos
Summary: "Every letter, every word she sent me- I'll treasure the memory even if you rip up the paper!" Leon is confronted with Len and his fate, and he wonders- what choice would truly be a mistake? (One-shot, side LenRin. Based on Prisoner/Paper Plane.)


He glowers down at the young boy in front of him, anger and disgust swirling within his chest, as his relentless, icy gaze scanning over the pitiful excuse for a human being. The criminal kneeling at his feet has messy, untamed and dirty blonde bangs shielding his eyes, and Leon has the utmost urge to yank them away and cut them off, to make the boy look him in the eyes.

This boy... caught in his room, with letters to an outsider. A most foolish mistake. And mistakes of any kind are not tolerated here.

"What is this?" Leon asks, holding up the crinkled, unfolded paper in front of himself. The boy had tried to fight back and retrieve the letter from him, but one harshly issued order to the guards had him easily pinned down and detained.

"It's mine. Please, give it back!" The boy- Leon struggles to remember his name. Not that it would matter- cries out, struggling against the iron-tight hold on his shoulders, the chains around his hands jangling in front of him.

Leon glares at him, peering at the letters. It's pretty handwriting, and for some reason he recognizes it from somewhere. "Why should it matter if it is returned to you?"

"Please! Please, that letter- all of those letters, they mean everything to me." Ah, the boy's name is coming back now. Len, correct? Yes... Leon hates the sound of it. Far too close to his own- and feminine. A meaningless word.

"This? This scrap of paper means something to you?" Leon says, and can't help the sadistic, uncaring smirk that crosses his face as he raises the paper.

"Yes! Yes, please let me have it back! It's all I have!" Len pleads, and looks up at him finally. Leon's cruel gaze is met with the boy's, and he's a bit internally surprised to see a bit of a spark left within the wretch's blue irises. Doesn't he realize he never had anything to begin with? Does he not know that his existence in this place has no meaning whatsoever? How can he still show such hopeful innocence, such lively determination even though his life could end any moment and would leave not a single mark in time?

His eyes... Somehow, Leon is reminded of his daughter. His beautiful, doll-like daughter, frail and weak in bed, yet always able to muster up a smile for him whenever he came to see her. Dying of an incurable set of ailments, but still vibrant and sweet. Such a spark... It resides in this boy, as well. And for a moment, Leon hesitates, seeing Rin in this boy's place, seeing her hope and life.

His teeth grit together, and he is reminded of what exactly this boy is. An urchin. An unimportant being- who made a very unforgivable mistake.

"Material items such as this have no importance," Leon says harshly, and in one fell move, he rips the offending letter in half, letting the pieces float sadly to the ground.

Len gasps, his eyes glued to his precious letter. His lips move, but no sound escapes. The guards holding him are laughing, making crude remarks.

Leon turns, tsking. "Have him punished-" He begins, but is cut off by the men behind him groaning and cursing bitterly. Leon, confused, whirls around to see what's going on, and sharp, brutal force slams into his face, sending him reeling off balance and to the floor, as the weakling boy jumps on top of him and attacks him with all the strength his small body can use, pure adrenaline fueling his punches as he cries out like an animal. Leon is stunned into inaction, his eyes trained on Len's face. His young complexion is stained red with emotion, and the spark in his eyes has grown, expanded into cold-blooded rage and hate.

"I hate you! I hate you!" Len screams as the guards who he had pulled loose from regain their hold over him, yanking him off the high-ranking officer, his arms and legs flailing wildly as he fights, trying to get back at Leon. "Those letters are all I had of her! You bastard!"

Leon, pulling himself and what dignity he has left up off the floor, wipes a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, his severe expression twisted in disgust. He stares at Len, who pants and glares right back at him with reckless fearlessness. Leon almost feels the slightest tinge of awe for the young male- he's dressed in tattered brown rags, his skin is littered with scars from years of being incarcerated, he's dirty from head to toe and he's thinner than a rail, yet he has fight in him. If Leon were another man, he'd erase the boy's past life and make him into a soldier.

But Leon knows all too well- the will behind the fire in his eyes cannot easily be broken. And it would be a mistake to try. Just as it would be a mistake to allow Len's breach of the rules to go unpunished.

Again, images of his dying daughter flash through his mind, stopping the words already in his throat, waiting to seal Len's fate. Her caring smile- her hurt, the way she yelled at him. Inside, he knows- this boy, and Rin, were the two communicating with each other. He can't stop the memory from filling his mind of when he threw every one of Rin's letters away, and she screamed at him, tears cascading down her pale cheeks.

To sentence Len to death would mean breaking Rin's heart- not that she would ever know.

But, to ensure her safety and to make sure she was never associated with a prisoner such as this, it would be the only way. His death would not be a mistake, now would it? It would be the solution.

In Leon's twisted mind, he feels this is right. Snuff out the spark before it causes a fire. Rin is bedridden permanently now- it's not as if she'll ever try to come see Len again. He'll make sure of it, if he must.

"I just... I just wish I could see her again."

Leon's eyes widen at the soft, barely audible words of the blonde.

Len looks at him, his teeth grinding together. "Every letter, every word she sent me- I'll treasure the memory even if you rip up the paper! You can destroy each one but I won't ever regret talking with her!"

"Shut up!" A harsh slap from one of the nameless guards beside him silences Len.

"Sir? How will we deal with this vermin?" The other soldier asks Leon, his grim face filled with malicious intent.

Leon looks at Len, pitiful yet still shooting fiery glares his way. And he wonders... will his death truly make a difference? Is it necessary, or will he himself make an unforgivable mistake? An image of Len and Rin together sears into his mind, and something churns in his gut, something he can't identify but fears all the same, even if it's not as much intimidating as just... strange.

Leon turns away, pulling his hat down to shield his face.

"Take him to the gas chamber. ...Put him out of his misery fast, will you?"

He, for some reason, can't look at the boy whose fate he has just determined, as he is dragged away soundlessly. Instead, Leon can't help but feel his heart sink, and to his utter shock, tears threaten at his vision though he isn't sure why. Why? Why should the life of one boy matter? He's nothing, a simple, unimportant prisoner in a jail of many. His death will mean nothing.

And Leon realizes- maybe right there is the fatal mistake he made. That he chose to end Len's life early, to erase him from existence as if he never was to begin with. Len never had a chance to live- from the moment he was born, he was an inmate. He'll never grow or become a man- and, Leon is somehow sure that, if he had chosen to let Len live, he would have come to be with Rin someday. Even if Rin were to die... In some way, her passing would be happier.

Since he has done this... has he taken away the smile he cherishes so much...? Was it Len that put that smile on her face in the first place?

Perhaps... he really isn't as insignificant as Leon thought. And if that's so... perhaps, he really is making a mistake.

Leon only needs to think a moment more, before something breaks within his chest, and he turns around, seeing his men dragging the now lifeless-looking, dead-eyed Len away. And he feels wrong.

 _I truly have... made quite the unforgivable mistake._

 _Unless I change it._ The thought is so abrupt it startles him- but it's right. It makes sense. It- _fits._

And in the next second, his mind is made up- because he sees his beautiful daughter urging him on, with that same smile on her face that he has always loved. And he's absolute in knowing what he's doing is right.

When he calls out to the guards to stop, and Len's gaze flashes to his and their eyes meet, Leon is shocked at the rush of relief that flows through him, seeing the hope flicker once again across the boy's face.

 _This is a mistake... I won't make._

* * *

A/N: Well. This is a thing.

I absolutely hate Leon- yet, I pictured him as being Rin's father in this song. (Which I think he is.) Thanks to some rekindled Prisoner/Paper Plane feels, I was like 'hm. You know, no one ever really thinks about how Rin's father might've felt or been like.' and despite my hatred of the character in both the songs and the Vocaloid in general, I was like 'I have to write this or it'll kill me'. So, I wrote this in one day, and it was originally intended to have a far different, much more tragic end. (To follow the songs, and we _all_ know how those went.)

So, have an alternate AU where Rin's father is not entirely a cruel, heartless human being and lets Len live and be with Rin.

I really just had to write this and I'm not even- yeah. This isn't even as good as the other oneshots I have hidden away that need finishing- but oh well guess what my muse is like 'nOPE'.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed your dose of feels.

Read on~!

Disclaimer: I never want to own Leon, but 'ey if I was allowed to keep Len and Rin, that'd be great- but since I don't, I guess I'll just be glad I'm allowed to use them. :3


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